The addition of obinutuzumab (Gazyva) to standard bendamustine (Treanda) chemotherapy followed by obinutuzumab maintenance therapy delays the progression of indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), almost doubling progression-free survival in rituximab (Rituxan)-refractory patients, according to the...

We’ve seen how dramatically patients’ lives can change when they are matched with the right treatment at the right time in their disease course. Although this is still an exception and not the rule, we believe collaborative research approaches will make this kind of precision medicine a reality for ...

ASCO’s endorsement of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) guidelines on the role of radiotherapy in locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is an important summary of the best evidence on the appropriate role and techniques for radiotherapy in this disease.1 These...

In the first head-to-head study comparing two proteasome inhibitors in relapsed multiple myeloma, carfilzomib (Kyprolis)/dexamethasone provided a doubling in progression-free survival, compared with bortezomib (Velcade)/dexamethasone.1 Results of the phase III ENDEAVOR trial of the two regimens in...

Patients with stage IV pancreatic cancer who received a novel enzyme along with standard chemotherapy experienced a doubling in progression-free survival, compared to those given chemotherapy alone, in a study presented at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 Response rates and median duration of...

Kevin Fitzpatrick has been named CEO of CancerLinQ LLC, a wholly owned nonprofit subsidiary of ASCO. Mr. Fitzpatrick, who is currently the Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), will begin his new role on August 3. CancerLinQ LLC was...

Triplet therapy that inhibits the BRAF, MEK, and EGFR pathways appears promising in BRAF-mutated colorectal cancer, a malignancy that typically does not respond to BRAF inhibition alone.1 At the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting, ChloeEvelyn Atreya, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco,...

Refinements in the classification and risk stratification for leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes were reported by three different investigators at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting. The first study showed that leukemia stem cell phenotypes are associated with outcomes in acute myeloid leukemia...

In monitoring patients with melanoma at high risk for relapse, surveillance imaging with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose–positron-emission tomography (FDG-PET)/computed tomography (CT) can detect asymptomatic metastases and thus facilitate early treatment, according to Australian investigators who presented ...

At the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting, both ASCO and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) unveiled details of new precision medicine trials that will greatly expand the number of patients with cancer who are benefiting from targeted agents. The trials will match a patient’s tumor molecular profile with an ...

Cyrus Ghajar, PhD, a metastatic breast cancer researcher at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has received a $4.1 million Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) “Era of Hope” Scholar Award.

The Department of Defense’s BCRP is the second biggest funder of breast cancer...

Some years after successful treatment of a childhood cancer, a 16-year-old survivor required surgery to replace both hip joints, which were damaged from therapy containing steroids. An x-ray of the teenager’s destroyed joints is a stark reminder of the serious health challenges faced by cancer...

Approximately 10% to 15% of patients with advanced non–small cell lung (NSCLC) cancer have mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in tumor cells. Specific therapies to inhibit the activity of EGFR-mutated NSCLC have now been clearly shown to improve response rate and...

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Andrea Bezjak, MD, of Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Toronto, and colleagues,1 ASCO has recently endorsed the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) evidence-based guideline on external-beam radiotherapy for patients with locally...

For the past few decades, ASCO has led efforts to integrate palliative care into all phases of cancer treatment. Through numerous educational programs, advocacy efforts, and most recently, the first annual Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium, ASCO has championed the idea that palliative care,...

The Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO presented more than $6.7 million in grants and awards to more than 200 promising oncology researchers at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting. The Conquer Cancer Foundation and ASCO congratulate the recipients on their contributions to the field of oncology and offer...

ASCO has responded to changing health-care standards by submitting comments to the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) on the revised version of its proposed General Chapter 800, “Hazardous Drugs—Handling in Healthcare Settings.” While ASCO notes some positive changes to the proposal, the Society...

Be sure to check out Cancer.Net’s ASCO Answers fact sheets on a variety of topics, including diagnosis and treatment options, side effects, and more than 25 cancer types. These one-page (front and back) introductions include an overview, illustrations, terms to know, and questions to ask the...

ASCO has released Practical Tips for the Oncology Practice 6th Edition, a comprehensive business and management resource for oncology practices. Recognizing the increasing burdens that oncology practices face in today’s healthcare delivery system, ASCO is releasing this guide with new information...

Geriatrics for the Oncologist is guest edited by Stuart Lichtman, MD, and developed in collaboration with the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG). Visit SIOG.org for more on geriatric oncology.

The elderly population in the United States is growing, and by the year 2050, persons...

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center announced the appointment of Matthew Trunnell as its Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO). Mr. Trunnell has worked at the intersection of information technology and life sciences research in both academic and commercial environments in support of ...

Gene therapy pioneer John A. Zaia, MD, has been named Director of the Center for Gene Therapy within City of Hope’s Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute. Internationally known and respected for his groundbreaking research into potential gene therapy treatments for HIV,...

David Gius, MD, PhD, has been named Co-leader of the Women’s Cancer Research Program at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, a position he has served in interim since February 2014. Dr. Gius, a nationally recognized radiation oncologist and researcher, is a...

Laura van’t Veer, PhD, Co-leader of the University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (HDFCCC) Breast Oncology Program, and her team at the Netherlands Cancer Institute were awarded the European Inventor Award for the invention of a gene-based tissue test,...

The ASCO Post is pleased to present Hematology Expert Review, an occasional feature that includes a case report detailing a particular hematologic condition followed by questions. Answers to each question with expert commentary can be found in the sidebar. In this installment, we present the case...

The information contained in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies for patients with melanoma. The trials are investigating immune response; vaccine therapy; ipilimumab in conjunction with numerous therapies; and chemotherapy regimens. All of the...

INSIDE THE BLACK BOX is an occasional column providing insight into the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its policies and procedures. In this installment, FDA supervisory toxicologist Todd Palmby, PhD, and pharmacologist Eias Zahalka, PhD, MBA, discuss the approach taken in the Office of ...

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) announced that it has received the largest gift in its history, a commitment of $150 million, from long-time MSK board member David H. Koch. This unprecedented contribution will fund a state-of-the-art outpatient medical facility to be known as The David ...

The use of dietary supplements by patients with cancer has increased significantly over the past 20 years despite insufficient evidence of safety and effectiveness. Finding reliable sources of information about dietary supplements can be daunting. Patients typically rely on family, friends, and the ...

In the phase III European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 18071 trial reported in TheLancet Oncology, Alexander M.M. Eggermont, MD, PhD, Director General of the Gustave Roussy Cancer Center in Villejuif, France, and colleagues found that adjuvant therapy with the immune...

Ipilimumab (Yervoy) is a fully human monoclonal antibody that blocks the negative T-cell regulator cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and has improved overall survival for patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma in two phase III studies.1,2 Based upon these results, ipilimumab was...

Amid the encouraging studies reported at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting about advances in the treatment of melanoma was a troubling finding about the incidence of melanoma increasing. An analysis of data from nine Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registries found that the incidence...

I've been fortunate to be strong and healthy for most of my life. In fact, there is no history of any serious illness in my family, which is why I was so unprepared to hear the words “You have breast cancer” 5 years ago. Not only was the diagnosis foreign to me, I had no idea what chemotherapy and...

Brian E. Henderson, MD, began his medical path as a researcher in virology, and as a young scientist, he ventured to Africa as part of a Centers for Disease Control team to study yellow fever. The better part of his esteemed medical career, however, was as one of the world’s most respected...

Michael O’Malley, PhD, MPH, former Associate Director of the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and former Adjunct Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, has passed away...

Scientist and Nobel Laureate ­Irwin “Ernie” Rose, PhD, passed away June 2, 2015, after a long illness. He was 88. Dr. Rose shared the 2004 Nobel Prize for chemistry with Aaron Ciechanover, MD, DSc, and Avram Hershko, MD, PhD, of the Israel Institute of Technology for their pioneering work in...

At a median follow-up of 3 years, ibrutinib (Imbruvica) demonstrated continued activity with durable responses that improved in quality with extended treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In addition, grade 3 toxicity and adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation...

A prospective, multicenter, observational study involving 992 consecutive patients with one to four asymptomatic, sonographically or cytologically benign thyroid nodules found that “the majority of nodules exhibited no significant size change during 5 years of follow-up or actually decreased in...